This began as a comment on Larry O'Donnell appearing on Olbermann's show last night and defending Obama's remarks on Reagan. O'Donnell, he of the "John Edwards Is A Loser" hit piece on HuffPo.
The comment was in the diary "Survey USA Drops Edwards Based on "Judgment" w/ Update", which I found rather stunning, as I live in Oregon.
I was searching for the link to O'Donnell's hit piece, and came across something that causes one of those "aha!" moments. It was this quote:
And then Al From, the D.L.C. founder, said he was "very happy about the two candidates" Americans are considering.
The DLC simply doesn't consider Edwards a candidate. Which may be leading the media and poll shunning of Edwards. To me, that is rather stunning. To say nothing about maddening--absolutely f***ing maddening. I now realize why Obama has been getting so many high level endorsements from the status quo. Edwards is seen as a rock thrower. And personally, I think that is what would bring real change that I could believe in. More over the fold...
First, let me get this out of the way, as I am an Oregonian:
If you'd like your voice to be heard here in Oregon, and want to be able to to choose from all the candidates and not the ones the media has deemed viable, you can contact the News Desk at KATU here: (503)231-4265 Or, if you'd like to send them an email: editor@surveyusa.com
In fact, perhaps more than just Oregonians may want to express their desire to pick Edwards in a poll to SurveyUSA.
Now on to Olbermann. I love Keith. I really don't believe he has a horse in this race, as he stated in a diary right here on DKos the other day. So last night, when I was listening with great interest to the segment on Obama's remarks about Reagan, I didn't think I heard right when Keith introduced his analyst. I was working on dinner and had the TV on in the other room, and was so stunned I went out and watched until I saw the graphic confirming what I heard:
Laurence O'Donnell, Huffington Post
Yes, that Larry O'Donnell, he of the post "John Edwards Is A Loser" hit piece on HuffPo. A very salient point that Keith never offered to share with his audience.
O'Donnell defended Obama and thought that Obama should channel more of Reagan, especially in the California primary and the general election. When Keith asked O'Donnell about Reagan's union busting, specifically citing the Air Traffic Controller's union, and how that would play with the Nevada unions, O'Donnell stated he thought that the voters were too young to remember that old history, so it wouldn't have an effect.
When Keith mentioned Edwards strong support of and from unions, O'Donnell simply dismissed Edwards as irrelevant. The "it's a two=person race now" meme we have been having shoved down our throats like Sami Al-Haj gets his feeding tube at Gitmo every day:
"But the Pentagon knows that a prisoner starving himself to death would be abysmal PR, so they force-feed Sami. As if that were not enough, when Gen. Bantz J. Craddock headed up the US Southern Command, he announced that soldiers had started making hunger strikes less 'convenient.' Rather than leave a feeding tube in place, they insert and remove it twice a day. Have you ever pushed a 43-inch tube up your nostril and down into your throat? Tonight, Sami will suffer that for the 479th time."
Just one more patriotic American practice in this generations-long Global War On Terror we are fighting. Brought to you by BushCo and the rest of the status quo powers that be.
I'm getting pissed off just thinking about this. So let me bring you to the main topic of this rant of a diary. The thing that is pissing me off so much it is making me really dislike Hillary a lot and Obama a little this morning.
The fact that their benefactors in the Democratic party leadership, the DLC, have no interest in allowing us Democratic voters the choice of John Edwards. From the NY Times Politics Blog "The Caucus" we find out that "D.L.C. Leaders Cut Edwards Out":
As would be expected, the two gentlemen from the Democratic Leadership Council on a conference call today told reporters they’re very confident in their party’s chances of reclaiming the White House, they’re happy that substantive issues are being discussed...
And then Al From, the D.L.C. founder, said he was "very happy about the two candidates" Americans are considering.
Only two candidates?
Our ears perked up as we listened on.
"This is a really hard choice, really, for Democratic voters because they like both candidates," said Mr. From. "For me, I don’t see that going to be a problem. I think in the end, Senator Obama’s appeal that he’s made very firmly and directly to independent voters, and Senator Clinton’s appeal to the forgotten middle class are going to add up to a very smashing Democratic majority in the fall."
snip
During the rest of the call, the two men said they were pleased that none of the Democratic candidates supports a single-payer health care system, that they are all taking the environment seriously, and that they’re focusing on national security — a strength that Mr. From admits, "we’ve not always had."
snip
In his conclusion, Mr. From re-emphasized his talking points and made one more mention of this now being a race between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.
I mean, this is a different party. And that all bodes well. So we’re excited about what’s going on in these early primaries and we look forward to having our hand in this race as it goes forward and helping our candidate, whether it be Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, march to a very strong victory this fall.
So there you have it, straight from the horses mouth of the Democratic status quo--John Edwards simply will not be "our candidate" this fall.
Can you guess how much money the Democratic status quo is going to get from me this year?
If a big fat ZERO comes to mind, you would be right.
But today I will be purchasing a John Edwards 2008 bumper sticker, and proudly applying to my solidly middle-class, hoping like hell for single-payer health care, boring old minivan.
You know what real change I could believe in would be?
Electing someone that is not part of the status quo President of the United States.
Someone like John Edwards.
And I don't think I'm the only one. As noted in HuffPo here, in "John Edwards Campaigns in LA":
Anyone who thinks John Edwards is a loser and should take his marbles and go back to North Carolina apparently were not at the Edwards' rally in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday.
Is this why the campaign played "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" during the pre-rally warm-up?
It seems a lot of voters here have the impression, however misguided and dumb, that the guy's a serious candidate for president. Who knew? And that the race for the Democratic nomination isn't over. Who are these starry-eyed dreamers anyway? Haven't they been following the news, with its all-Hillary, all-Barack coverage all the time?
But back to the rally, which took place downtown at the Southern California Public Service Workers' headquarters. In a parking lot. Yes, it couldn't have been less glamorous, but that was the point. As Jason Gomez, a Latino sanitation worker and former Teamsters member in his 30s said of Edwards, "So many of the candidates don't seem like they're representing the people. He's the people's guy. He's the man for me."
snip
But Edwards isn't giving up. "I am an underdog campaign, but this is where you come in," he said in closing, his voice rising. "You can help us here in California, help a grassroots movement that spreads across this state, that spreads across this country. When that tidal wave of change is finished, we will be able to look our children in eye and say, 'We did for our you what our parents did for us.'"
And with that it was over, and Edwards began signing autographs and people crowded the stage, snapping photos of him on their cell phones.
"You're going to win, John!" a man shouted out.
In closing, let me share with you the words of another true fighter for change, a true voice for millions of the oppressed and the downtrodden, a man who died for his cause, and a man who I have proudly quoted in my sig forever. This week in particular is a good time for remembering how hard we had to fight to end the last hugely unpopular war, how hard we had to fight for civil rights, how much different and how much more open the media was back in the 60's. This time around it is the netroots that are doing the heavy lifting in fighting the status quo.
These words were prophetically spoken the evening before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee by the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King.
As always, thank you for your time and consideration. Godspeed to all, and to all a good day coming. And remember to never give up the good fight.
UPDATE: Man, this thing hit the Rec List fast! It must have hit a chord here on DKos, even though our latest straw poll shows Obama on top. Thanks for all your support, especially for John.
I'm off to teach some young'uns how to pass the NCLB testing soon, so I won't be around to comment until this afternoon. Remember to keep up the good fight! Here are a couple of links if you want to help John keep up the good fight:
Store with bumper stickers, etc., all purchases are donations matched up to $250
Edwards Donation Page, Goal: $7,000,000 Today
And as to my confluence of JRE and MLK, it's because both are/were fighters against the status quo.
The key word being fight. Because it's going to take a hell of a fight to take our country back from the status quo.